Wednesday - May 16, 2012
No Bad Puns, No More SOJ
CBS Cancels “CSI: Miami”
Oh noes! No more Horatio Caine, no more of his not really witty puns, and no more of his neurotic constant removing of the famous SOJ (Sunglasses Of Justice) 30 times per episode. And after 10 solid years, no more episodes that feature the exact same plot line: At some fancy do for the young, rich, beautiful, and scantily clad, a gruesome murder occurs. With his god-like powers, the very first person Horatio talks to while removing the SOJ turns out to be the killer. But to get there, the CSI gang have to talk to 5 other suspects, all of whom lie to the police, then they have to suffer through 2 montages of them driving around the city and putting little bits into test tubes back at the lab. Then the key clue will arrive by an absolutely impossible manifestation of technology (see cartoon at left), the first witness will be brought back in for further questioning, and after being subjected to several awful Horatio quips will confess. Camera pans to scope the amazingly beautiful lady cops who come to work every day in 5” stilettos, skin tight pants, and well filled blouses open to their navels. End credits.
I won’t really miss it, though with it’s over-saturated colors and over-saturated bikinis, it was worth the occasional viewing with the sound off. And I do have a jones for Eva La Rue. Day-um. Drew like. Yum.
And now I finally get a chance to use these CSI graphics, which I’ve had sitting around on the PC for years now.
The “C.S.I.” franchise, probably the most lucrative television concept ever produced, has begun its inevitable departure from the television landscape with the news Sunday that CBS has cancelled the original spinoff, “C.S.I.: Miami.”
The crime drama, which lasted 10 seasons, most likely became the victim in this case because it was more expensive than its newer, and lower-rated, sister show, “C.S.I.: New York.” That drama is expected to be back on CBS’s schedule, which the network will announce Wednesday.
The original “C.S.I.,” set in Las Vegas and still the highest-rated of the three shows, is sure to return after a season in which it bounced back with Ted Danson as its latest star.
CBS released a statement about the decision to end the Miami show:
“C.S.I.: Miami” leaves an amazing television legacy — a signature look and style, global popularity and as a key player in CBS’s rise to the top over the past decade. We thank all the producers — led by Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman and Ann Donahue — and its talented cast, led by David Caruso, for 10 outstanding seasons. Viewers around the world will continue to enjoy rebroadcasts of “C.S.I.: Miami” in syndication and on key digital platforms for many years to come.
“C.S.I.: Miami” was a top-rated show for most of its run and was one of the biggest sellers to international broadcasters around the world, generating hundreds of millions in revenue for CBS.
It also created one of the most imitated (and mocked) signature moments of recent television seasons: the ritual removal of the sunglasses by Mr. Caruso as he delivered an especially portentous line of dialogue.
Posted by Drew458
on 05/16/2012 at 11:51 AM
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Permalink • Common Sense? You’re Fired!
A Detroit groundskeeper, who turned in a loaded handgun he found hidden in weeds while working, was fired by the Wayne County Department of Public Services, MyFoxDetroit.com reports.
John Chevilott, who is just two years shy of retirement, found the loaded snub-nosed revolver on May 3 when he and his crew were mowing a lawn in Wayne County. Chevilott secured the gun, waiting for police to drive by so he could hand it over to them.
But, according to the station, the Detroit police never did pass by, so Chevilott finished his work that day, drove the gun home and later that same evening turned it into his local police department.
He says the cops ran the gun and discovered the weapon had been stolen from St. Clair Shores in 2005.
“They said I did the right thing getting it off the street,” Chevilott told MyFoxDetroit.com.
However, Chevilott’s superiors at the Wayne County Department of Public Services had a much different opinion. His foreman, who had knowledge of the situation, was suspended for 30 days, and after 23 years on the job, Chevilott was fired for violating department policies.
Department policy says no employee can have a gun on the job. Chevy countered that he didn’t bring a gun to work, he found the gun while on the job. As if that makes any difference. They fired him anyway. Chevilott says there is no existing policy on what to do if a firearm is found on the job. The landscaper’s union is filing a grievance. Good for them.
County bosses say Chevy was also terminated for insubordination. Well duh, of course he was. Probably because he told his pussified pencil pusher boss just what flavor of dumbshit he really was for making an issue of out this nothing situation. He was also fired for “unauthorized access to the road yard”, which means his bosses are ginning up every BS charge against the guy they can find, including being at the mower storage area when it wasn’t his official 10 minutes to be there. What a load of bullshit.
Want to play Guess The Truth? In his supervisor’s minds, he was supposed to race to the phone to dial his boss, who would instantly call 911, so the po-po could have a big gee-whiz, lock down the whole building or golf course or whatever it was that had grass too long, call in the bomb squad and the helicopters, and generally waste half a million or so of taxpayer money. Because ... it’s a gun!!! PANIC MODE ON!! Don’t make a decision, kick it upstairs, get everyone involved!! This could be the end of the world right now, so share the blame as wide as possible!! Plus, it would be the supervisor who got the official brass plated gold star attaboy that might get handed out.
Not.
Instead, the grass whacker picked up a bit of garbage, like any other garbage, and set it aside. Oh look, it’s a gun. Gosh. Hidden in the weeds. In Detroit. Oh lawdy, that ain’t nevah happened before, not never! Wrong. Realizing this was no more than a thin squirt’s worth of chicken shit, mower man put the thing in the mower’s toolbox and went back to work. Hey, if the cops came by, he’d give it to them. They didn’t, so he completed his job and clocked out. Might even have forgotten about it for a while. Just another day on the ride behind. Probably he went back to the yard after work, got the gun, and took it to the cops. Just another piece of trash taken off the streets. Such a non-big deal he didn’t even mention it. “Unauthorized access”? Dude, it’s HIS yard. He has the keys. He’s been doing the job since before the yard even existed. And he knew damn well that if he called the cops, he’d have to waste his whole evening waiting for them to show up, because they can smell chicken shit a mile away too. So not only did Chevilott do the right thing, he did it the right way, the way that caused the least susurrus for all parties involved.
Until his supervisor got the paperwork from the cops on Monday. And that wouldn’t have been a surprise if the guy had ever come around to check on the crews, or had shown the slightest interest in the daily affairs of his men. But no, not even a “hey, what’s new?” from that stuffed shirt. All he wants is the forms with all the boxes checked. That’s my guess, having worked this kind of job and had this kind of boss. They don’t want to hear from you for nothing. Chevi was on his own, all the time, and was expected to solve every daily problem himself, don’t bother me, until ex post facto the problems he solved were too big for his paygrade. Been there, done that, still have the shirt with the stains, quit the job.
So he gets canned for it ... after 23 years on the job. Most likely because he didn’t pitch a hoplophobic hissy sissy fit, applied a bit of common sense instead, and went about doing his job; his boss canned him because he’s reacting like a 15 year old girl “You didn’t callll me!” How dare Forest Gump have any intelligence or any ability to solve issues on his own. The nerve.
Posted by Drew458
on 05/16/2012 at 08:05 AM
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Government •
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Permalink • how’s this for a do it yourself project?
Wow .... take a look at what this fellow has done.
Talk about a do it yourself project. Brilliant.
It started with this.
An old (130 years) rail coach which wasn’t allowed to be moved. So, his ex FIL built a home around it and got this.
But apparently the coach his FIL bought needed lots of restoration and lots and lots of work. Which this man took on.
Is this the strangest home in Britain? The bungalow that’s built around a 130-year-old railway carriage
Jim Higgins’ ex father-in-law had to build around the carriage because bizarre planning rules said it had stood for so long it could not be movedMr Higgins is now restoring the former Great Western Railway carriage to possibly open to the public
By MATT BLAKE
When it comes to building a comfortable bungalow, Jim Higgins has got the inside track.
The retired transport manager, 60, has one of the most unique houses in Britain… because it is built around a real railway carriage.
The property in Ashton, Cornwall, is a fully functioning house but bizarrely has the fully restored 130-year-old Great Western Railway car within its walls.
Mr Higgins, 64, originally from Buckinghamshire took over the property from his former father-law Charles Allen who was forced to build it around the railway carriage because bizarre planning regulations meant the train could not be moved.
Mr Higgins said: ‘The railway carriage was lived in by a local woman Elizabeth Richards from 1930.
‘It was known as Lizzies Place to when she died in 1966.
‘It then stood empty for a number of years until my ex-father-in-law came down looking for somewhere to retire.
All the other photos are HERE and I think you might be impressed.
Posted by peiper
on 05/16/2012 at 06:21 AM
Filed Under: • OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT • planes, trains, tanks, ships, machines, automobiles • Success Stories • Talented Ppl. • UK •
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Permalink • Europe’s mainland piracy attack will escalate conflict
This is a followup to the piracy post that was so well done by Drew yesterday. I can’t match his droll comments so won’t do more then present what I found this morning for your consideration.
Short of nuking Somalia as suggested by friend LyndonB with whom I agree fully, I don’t suppose the curse of these despicable sub humans will be solved very soon. Instead we’ll see the possible arrest of a few who will ask for asylum in the west, probably the UK, and immediately sign up for benefits which is likely they’ll get. It doesn’t seem to occur to the .... “arresting” personal we see in photos, that dead pirates do not return to ply their trade again. I noticed a photo for example, of a boat full of these lice with arms raised and confronted by armed naval personal. I wanted to shout at the guys with guns, open fire. Kill em. Then dump them in the ocean. Who the hell would know? But of course, you just know there would be one John Kerry in the group who would carry the tale back to shore with wringing hands and bleeding heart, thus insuring the prosecution/persecution of the good guys who pulled their triggers.
So then, this caught my attention this early morning.
Europe’s mainland piracy attack will escalate conflict
The midnight attack by a single helicopter firing its machine gun into half-a-dozen Somali pirate skiffs is some distance from the “shock and awe” that usually heralds the start of most campaigns.
By Mike Pflanz, Nairobi and Thomas Harding
But as innocuous as it might seem, the first act of aggression by the EU led naval force is likely lead to a greater escalation in a conflict that has so far avoided bloodshed.
By attacking the pirates’ infrastructure the EU NAVFOR (naval force) has signalled that it will give some teeth to the announcement made in March to strike at Somali land targets.
The arrival of the new French amphibious assault ship Dixmude, complete with its Tiger attack helicopters, will increase the likelihood of intensified attacks against the logistics chain and infrastructure of the pirate business.
EU military planners, based at the British headquarters in Northwood, will also have a clear idea of the best targets and will be assembling their forces to put in some hard strikes against the pirates before they can fully react. That would be the aspiration at least, if the force is going to show it has some backbone.
But filling a few wooden skiffs with bullet holes is hardly likely to send the pirates scuttling to the hills and will make not much of a dent against the multi-million pound trade.
At best it might disrupt the trade forcing the pirates to bring their boats further inland making it harder to launch hijackings at sea.
The pirates are also expected to make their boats far harder to detect, possibly placing them closer to civilians increasing the likelihood of casualties.
But after years of successful trade the treasure chests are full of dollars making it likely that the next time the EU launches a strike against the pirate havens they will be met with an arsenal of anti-aircraft guns and missiles.If an aircraft is taken down or large numbers of Somalis are killed, it will mark a significant escalation and further intervention into the wider Somali conflict.
With the end of the Afghanistan coming slowly into view, it is likely that more resources will be freed up to strike against a thorn in the side of the international economy.The only way piracy will be cured is by addressing the problems in Somalia itself. That could well lead to weapons and tactics being used that are some distance in sophistication from a mild dousing by a door mounted machine gun.
the next time the EU launches a strike against the pirate havens they will be met with an arsenal of anti-aircraft guns and missiles.
Well I certainly hope so because that might be the one thing that gets the powers that be off their backside and go in and destroy the roaches nest once and for all. That is the only way to handle this problem. Not with foreign aid and religious missionaries and donations to help the poor starving etc. Destroy them totally. That’s the only acceptable answer. We can only hope that this recent little foray will indeed escalate things. What’s the point of having modern military resources, not to mention the high cost of maintaining them, if they are not to be used? The mere fact that the west has them does not deter piracy. That’s because they are assured that deadly force won’t be used against them. So they can afford to be bold. Make less affordable and you solve the problem.
Posted by peiper
on 05/16/2012 at 04:41 AM
Filed Under: • International • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Tuesday - May 15, 2012
eye candy for tuesday
No redhead this time ....
I’ve always been rather ga-ga over these women. Chinese, Japanese, Korean. Just something about em I can’t explain. I also enjoy this type of art.
But of course, I really prefer the real thing so here’s an example.
Back in my younger and deeply more stupid days, I saw something or someone on TV I think. It could even have been a magazine. It was so long ago. But what I’ll never forget was my wife’s reaction to my reaction at the girl I was ogling. I believe she was Japanese. Anyway, the wife annoyed says, if you like them so much .... why didn’t you marry one? To which and without thinking I replied,
Cause I couldn’t find one that’d have me.
She threw a drink at me. Which I found funny and laughed. Which made her angrier. So she threw another one and soon we were both in fits of laughter.
Anyway, back to art below cos I know what you really wanna see.
Posted by peiper
on 05/15/2012 at 03:24 PM
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy •
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Permalink • VERMIN ATTACK ON LONDON, AUTHORITIES HELPLESS
The problem is we are not judgemental enough (or some of you aren’t anyway). I know its only a small island, but surely we can take in all the worlds waifs and strays and we can all live happily ever after in one big happy melting pot! Let’s let the whole world in to our country, because apparently there’s no downside to uncontrolled immigration. And if you say there is a downside it will soon be time to start shouting RACIST.
- Craig, Pontypool, 15/5/2012 18:14
Hell of a way .............
Throw them out. Of course if the Guardian reading lefty Nimby’s are prepared to pay for these Romanians, a roof over their heads, food in their stomach, clothes on their back, together with paying for their private health insurance, their childrens education and a bond to guarantee that they won’t commit any criminal offence that would warrant a jail term, then they are welcome to stay. Alternatively, I would gladly contribute a few ‘bob’ to help these Romanians set up camp on Hampstead Heath. The poor old Roger and Daphne brigade won’t dare leave their homes to go to the wine and sushi bars at night in case they come back to find the Romanians have set up camp in their house.
- Andy-Roo, North Herts, 15/5/2012 18:14
To begin a post .............
Welcome to (once) Great Britain, the dustbin of the world.
- Brian, Lincoln, 15/5/2012 17:41
But I need undivided attention .............
I can only write about the experience we have here in Stuttgart - a small but wealthy city - and therefore a lot of Romanian Beggars - first most of the beggars are actually from Moldova - but due to ethnic reasons have Romanian citizenship - further developments are now they beg using either very old or severly handicapped people to increase the pity effect - and they also tend to use very young puppies to get the cute effect. Unfortunately they are not allowed to keep the money collected rather must hand it all up to so called “controllers” - I wonder what the Romania government is doing to solve what is increasingly becoming a pan European problem.
- Walter, stuttgart, Germany , 15/5/2012 18:29
And figured rightly or wrongly this’d be a good way to get it.
Bothers me on more then one level.
You readers will not be aware of the hoops I had to jump through and the many questions I had to answer, including some personal ones, and then paying several hundred (wife says it was $500 but I don’t remember exact figure) non refundable dollars for my Brit Visa to come to the UK in 2004.
It’s heartbreaking to see our Country being ruined before our very eyes. God help us, they are in every City and Town - even the sleepy little town I live in which is no bigger than a large English Village there is one touting the big issue and another begging outside Boots. This needs sorting out.
- fidoanddaisy, scotland, 15/5/2012 13:50
In fact ..... the original questionnaire given me was, I think, 30 pages long. Or close to it. When I questioned the length and thought many of the questions didn’t apply to me, the embassy (Brit) gave me the short version. It was about 18 pages.
I bet ya LyndonB might know what I paid in US dollars in 2004. And btw, I had to prove I wouldn’t be a burden, had someone here and we provided the MIL’s name and address as where we were to live, but finally got thru the vetting with relief. They even asked for and got our bank account number.
So then, seeing what I have seen over the years I have been here can send my blood pressure up. And even my wife who has always been the level head and non violent of us, where I get worked up and say shoot the bastards, well, my wife doesn’t cuss but the shoot em idea has begun to appeal even to her.
The above comments are just a few of the 400 so far at the Mail on line with regard to immigration.
And here’s the latest on the influx of verminous scum this country just does not seem prepared to deal with. Cos apparently they have rights and there’s idiot Brits who will defend these dregs, this stain on Europe and curse on England.
Romanian beggars set up camp in central London’s exclusive Park Lane just yards from where they were last evicted· Moved into central reservation after eviction from Marble Arch last month
· Urinating in street in view of capital’s highest-end restaurants and hotels
· British homeless: Too dangerous to sleep rough with knife-wielding migrants
· Coachloads of foreign pickpockets and prostitutes flood streets each day
· Tourist: ‘It’s disgusting. It’s like something from the Third World’
. When you walk past the subway it stinks of urine.’By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
More than 50 Romanian beggars evicted from London’s Marble Arch have moved just a few yards away to the exclusive Park Lane area of the city.
Disgusting: The group regularly urinate in the street, in full view of the area’s top restaurants and hotels
The group have moved to the road’s central reservation within full view of the capital’s high-end restaurants and hotels.They were moved on from the streets around Marble Arch and Oxford Street last month as council workers battle an influx of Romanian crime syndicates ahead of the Olympics.
The gang had been sleeping in cardboard boxes in a subway which runs under the central reservation until the midpoint entryway was barred shut last week.
Coachloads of penniless pickpockets and prostitutes are arriving in the capital every day, many already armed with maps directing them to the best patches, which they have been ordered to defend from rivals.this morning, two police vans were parked in Marble Arch, while a small group of six Eastern Europeans sat nearby with several large black bags.
A British homeless man said it had become too dangerous to sleep out in central London because of Romanian gangs roaming around at night thieving at knifepoint.
Westminster Council has held a summit meeting of local agencies including the Foreign Office and representatives of the Romanian Embassy to discuss the problem.
It repatriated 18 people to Romania recently, but only after the coach company insisted on them being given showers and new clothes before they boarded a bus.
Westminster councillor Nickie Aiken said: ‘These people are dispersing but they are not going away. They are either camping in Park Lane or moving into South Mayfair and around Oxford Street.‘The police and council are doing all we can about this but the taxpayers are picking up the bill, mainly the cost of cleansing because they have no toilets.’
Last night, a group of around 20 - split between elderly women with walking sticks and headscarves and men in their 30s with hooded jackets and mobile phones - sat together on a tatty blanket playing dice for piles of £1 coins in the dual carriageway’s central reservation.Push-along suitcases, beer bottles and carrier bags littered the grass yards from the prestige car dealerships, Speakers’ Corner and some of the capital’s best-known hotels.
‘Police here earlier, no trouble, no problems,’ said one man in his 20s in broken English, before adding: ‘No camera.’An elderly woman broke away from the group to pull down her tights and relieve herself against a fence.
‘It’s disgusting,’ said Brian Portman, 46, from New Zealand, waiting to board an open-top bus tour. ‘It’s definitely not what you expect to see in London. It’s like something from the Third World,’ he told the Standard.Sarah Greene, who has manned an ice cream booth opposite for more than 20 years, said: ‘It’s disgusting. I’ve seen men from the council come down to move them on, but as soon as they leave they come back again.
When you walk past the subway it stinks of urine.’
The council has asked the Foreign Office and the Romanian government for a publicity campaign in Romania to try to deter people from coming.
Hey big shot powers that be. You wanna “deter” then you must give the lice that infest your capital city a demonstration that involves killing a goodly number. And anyway, bullets are cheaper then the money being wasted on the problem now. Those who survive will leave most willingly. And fewer will be willing to risk a trip here. Easy.
Be sure and see the photos at the link.
Posted by peiper
on 05/15/2012 at 01:17 PM
Filed Under: • Border Security • CULTURE IN DECLINE • Daily Life • Illegal-Aliens and Immigration •
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Permalink • A NEGATIVE SIDE
I have a very dear friend of some 30 years who lives in the Nashville area. We’ve managed to stay in touch via phone or the occasional email although she prefers snail mail. Of course she would. She’s a writer.
In her youth she played piano professionally, was married til his death a few years ago to a very talented steel guitar player. Who was also a writer and producer, a hugely funny comic and pretty good golfer.
Anyway, these days she is sort of retired. I say sort of because she is still being commissioned to write things having to do mostly with music history and biographies. She ghost writes for some in the industry and I can not mention names for obvious reasons.
Anyway, she sent me something today and I haven’t a clue where she got it. Didn’t say. She isn’t happy (I wouldn’t be either were I still there) with the business these days. Music Row sure ain’t what it was in our glory years.
Here’s what she sent me and I got a laugh out of it. You might too. Or maybe not but I’m posting it nonetheless.
The music business is a dark plastic hallway;
where pimps and thieves run free and good men die like dogs.THERE’S ALSO A NEGATIVE SIDE.
Posted by peiper
on 05/15/2012 at 11:08 AM
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Permalink • Que The Music But Don’t Press Play Yet
Sorry to paraphrase a line from Agent 86 there, but come on. Look at the headlines! I had the Wagner all queued up, ready to go. Helicopter assault on pirate stronghold, woo hoo! Finally!
This is why you always have to read past the headlines.
EU carries out first airstrikes against Somali pirate targets
BRUSSELS – The European Union says its naval force off the Somali coastline has carried out its first air strikes against pirate targets on shore.
A spokesman said maritime aircraft and attack helicopters took part in the attacks early Tuesday along the coastline.
EU Force Bombs Somali Pirates’ Supplies in First Land Attack
The EU naval force operating off East Africa conducted its first air attack to destroy Somali pirates’ equipment on land, deploying a new tactic to protect the region’s merchant shipping.There were no Somali casualties as a result of the assault, which took place earlier today, the European Union’s naval mission covering Somalia said on its website in an initial assessment.
Somali piracy: EU forces in first mainland raid
EU naval forces have conducted their first raid on pirate bases on the Somali mainland, saying they have destroyed several boats.
The EU forces were transported by helicopter to the pirate bases near the port of Haradhere.
Anti-piracy forces have been reluctant to attack mainland bases, fearing for the crew of captured ships.
...
The attack was carried out overnight and, according to the European forces, no Somalis were hurt during the action.The multinational forces used helicopters in conjunction with two warships to leave five of the pirates’ fast attack craft “inoperable”.
EU Naval Forces Attack Somali Pirate Bases
In what is seen as a significant change in tactics, a single attack helicopter - the nationality of which is not yet known - launched air strikes against targets on the Somali shore overnight on Tuesday.
No casualties have been reported following the raids, along the country’s central coastline in the region of Galmudug, but boats and equipment belonging to pirates are said to have been destroyed.
...
The area hit has a low population but during a reconnaissance mission, a large number of skiffs - dinghies with large outboard motors - were spotted, suggesting the presence of pirates.
...
With an annual budget last year of more than 8m euro, the EU-NAVFOR mission is to protect vessels passing through the area, to deter and disrupt pirate operations, and to provide up to date information to ships in the region.
...
All EU nations and some non-EU countries contribute to the force either with warships, maritime patrol aircraft or with desk staff.Their rules of engagement are limited by a UN charter. Although this is sometimes seen as a frustrating tie, the commander believes the operation is working.
“What I am commanding here is a constabulary operation, effectively it is a law enforcement action against a criminal act,” he told Sky News.
So one whirlybird went in after dark and shot a few holes into less than half a dozen fiberglass skiffs, at at least two locations. So we’re talking less than three motorboats per area. No casualties, no arrests, no rescues, no burning supply depots, no nada.
Two Cub Scouts with a BB gun, indeed.
a comic opera Valkyrie for a comic op
Posted by Drew458
on 05/15/2012 at 09:07 AM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Monday - May 14, 2012
I haven’t missed not doing these posts
I haven’t done a Somali Pirates story in a while, mostly because there hasn’t been one to do. For half a year or so they’ve been batting a big fat zero, between the typhoon season, resistance by commercial shipping, and what amounted to a near blockade of their coasts by international naval effort.
Maybe if Obama could come out of the closet and be pro-pirate, he could add another color to his rainbow halo and this problem would just go away.
10.05.2012: 0923 UTC: Posn: 15:58N – 061:02E, (Around 250nm SE of Ras Al Madrakah, Oman), Off Somalia.
Ten Pirates in two skiffs armed with automatic weapons chased a crude oil tanker underway. The tanker enforced anti piracy measures, increased speed, made evasive manoeuvres and managed to evade the boarding attempt resulting in the skiffs regrouping with the mother ship in the vicinity. Later, the skiffs launched a second attack on the tanker, approached at a speed of 24 knots and managed to successfully board and hijack the vessel and take hostage the 26 crew members.
MT Smyrni was seized approximately 285 nautical miles southeast of Somalia. Pirates hijacked a Liberian-flag oil tanker with 26 men on board in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman on May 10. The MT Smyrni was reportedly sailing from Turkey with a cargo of 135,000 tons of crude oil when it was seized approximately 285 nautical miles southeast of Somalia.
“No communications have been received from the ship since the ship was boarded,” ship owner Dynacom Tankers Management said.
The 149,998-deadweight ton Smyrni, which joined Greece-based Dynacom’s fleet last year, was on its second voyage.
“The Liberian government is in the know of the matter and we are closely watching the developments,” the Indian Shipping Ministry said.
Reports said the ship was attacked twice before being boarded by armed pirates. The ship’s crew included 14 Filipinos, 11 Indians and one Romanian. According to the International Maritime Organization, African pirates are holding captive about 300 crew members on some 17 ships.
The tanker’s capture comes after a recent fall in the number of hijackings in the region. The drop has been attributed to plans by several countries to allow ships using their flags to sail with armed guards. It has not been reported, however, whether the Smyrni had such guards on board.
We have seen a surge of recent attacks over the last few days in the general vicinity of the Smyrni hijacking. Earlier on Thursday, a tanker evaded an attack while underway approximately 262nm ENE of Socotra Island, Yemen. The IMB report states that six pirates in a skiff approached and fired upon a tanker underway from a distance of 500 meters, but were turned away after an armed security team aboard the vessel returned fire at the skiffs.
Wednesdays violent attack on a crude tanker occurred approximately 345nm ESE of Socotra Island, Yemen, as shown here on the map.
On Wednesday, reports came of a violent attack against an unidentified crude tanker underway approximately 345nm ESE of Socotra Island, Yemen. The pirates in that attack allegedly fired over 300 AK47 rounds and 7 RPG rounds at the vessel from a distance of just 50 meters. The vessel in that attack was able to avoid being boarded but did sustain damage.
UK’s The Guardian said the hijacking of the MT Smyrni was the first successful attack by pirates on an oil tanker off the Horn of Africa in a year.
OceanUSlive.Org, a social networking site for the maritime industry, said the attack was one of four to have taken place in the Arabian Sea in the past few days after a lull in pirate activity.
The MT Smyrni is a Suezmax class carrier that can transport 1 million barrels of oil, compared to the 3 million barrels that the largest ULCC carriers can handle. The ship is almost brand new, 275m in length. When loaded she has a top speed of 9 knots.
The Combined Task Force 151 (CTF151) has decided to stop pursuing Somali pirates who captured a Liberian-flagged tanker carrying about 135,000 tonnes of crude oil for PTT Plc in the Gulf of Eden on Thursday after receiving a report that the pirates have taken the tanker to the Somali coast and demanded a ransom, a navy source said.
The source, citing information from Thai navy officers operating with CTF151, said the task force, commanded by Rear Adm Thanin Likitwong of the Thai navy, could not take action to retake the tanker because in doing so it needed the consent of its owner, the owners of the crude oil and their insurance company.
The tanker, MT Smyrni, is owned by Dynacom Tankers Management of Greece.
“More importantly, the vessel has no citadel for the crew to hide in safety and no armed guards. Therefore, it would not be safe for the 26 crew members if an operation is launched to retake the tanker,” the source said.
None of the crew was Thai. The source said when the tanker was attacked by the pirates it was about 800km from the Somali coast in an area in which there were no battleships.
Fort Victoria, a CTF151 ship with 16 Thai navy officers on board, followed the tanker from a distance but took no action due to concerns for the crew’s safety.
The pirates have contacted the tanker’s owner and the insurance company is expected to quickly negotiate with them because the 135,000 tonnes of oil belongs to many firms including PTT Plc of Thailand.
No permission for a rescue from the owners, and a brand new ship with a $115 million cargo at sea in dangerous waters without guards or even a safe place for the crew to hide. Gee, I’m sure her crew is really happy about those cost saving gestures right now.
Posted by Drew458
on 05/14/2012 at 08:09 PM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Oh Deer, Drew Redesigned Another One
There is nothing new under the sun in the firearms world, not even this idea.
It’s a .22 rimfire rifle with a special coaxial double barrel on it, that uses concrete nailgun blanks to shoot hollow crossbow arrows at impressive velocities.
Looks awesome, but does it work? Two different vendors for what appears to be the same product: one made by LaRue Tactical and the other, called the “Airrow” by Swivel Machine, both say they can be fit to your Ruger 10/22 or 77/22 rifle in minutes, and will shoot 305 grain 16” arrows at an astonishing 425 feet per second.
These things are still firearms, called “arrow rifles”, but they claim tremendous accuracy (1” groups at 50 yards) and power. If you screw off the arrow’s target point and screw on a broadhead, do you now have a nearly silent short range deer killing machine? Could be. I’m not sure how the game wardens would classify this one for regular hunters, but for the guys who work as suburban deer assassins this could be a real solution.
Here’s how they work. The arrow has no nock in the back; it’s open. The rifle has an outer barrel tube and a very thin inner barrel tube. The arrow slides down over the inner tube in a moderately tight friction fit. The arrow uses plastic vanes instead of feathers, and they fold mostly flat inside the outer tube. A special chamber is on the breech end of the barrel to hold the concrete nailer blank cartridge. Pull the trigger and the blank goes off, pressurizing the hollow inner tube and applying force to the arrow from the inside, right behind the head. It’s like when you were a kid and used to blow the paper cover off your soda straw in the lunchroom. The hollow arrow rides straight on the outside of the inner barrel, and perhaps gets a little guidance from the inside of the outer barrel. It pops off the end and goes zooming away. Spin a new arrow down the barrel, load in a new blank cartridge, and you’re ready to shoot again.
It doesn’t take much skill to use. You don’t have to spend years pulling a bowstring and becoming Robin Hood to know how to do it. Load, point, fooop, harvest. That simple. The arrow rifle packs more wallop than even the strongest bow or crossbow. In theory.
And theory is the problem. A 305 grain arrow is awfully light. Sure, it’s only 16” long, just like a crossbow bolt, but it’s a good 25% lighter than a typical hunting arrow. That means it will shoot faster, but it will have very limited range. How limited a range do you really need to harvest deer in suburbia? I’m not sure. I drove down to Flemington last night at about 10:30, and the deer were everywhere. In my 12 mile drive I passed 8 small herds of them, some right out in the middle of the road just standing around, and several single deer on their own. I’m pretty sure I saw 50 deer, and even blowing the horn on my car (which they ignore) I passed within 15 feet of them. In a car. How many more were in the fields 50, 80, 100 yards away? Probably thousands. Hunterdon County is plagued with the rotters. They’re everywhere.
Lots of areas are like ours, and many towns have hired deer assassins. They don’t call them that, oh no. They call them “intrusive wildlife management experts” but they’re deer killers, plain and simple. Around here the deer are so inured to people you could probably hunt them with a hammer. You can just about walk right up to them before they’ll startle and run. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes you need to shoot them from a bit more than arm’s length. Sometimes you need to shoot them from halfway across a meadow, or at the far end of somebody’s acre-plus backyard. And that range might be a bit more than what you can do with a modern bow.
The limited range idea is a good one. You don’t want arrows or bullets flying for a thousand yards, shooting through walls and bad stuff like that. Thunderous booms that shatter windows and frighten the neighbors. Bad. But I’m not sure this particular rig has the power to do the job at 75 yards. And I’m not even certain that it will suffice at 50. It’s range might be too limited. So let’s build a bigger one that will do the job, no matter what.
For starters, I think the arrow should weigh quite a bit more. Call it 435 grains, a full ounce. A nice thick shaft and a full size broadhead, to cut the biggest deepest hole and have the retained inertia to do it, no matter what the angle to the target is. At a distance a bit beyond what regular bowhunters would consider. 80 yards, or 100. How to go about building one of those?
Pretty easy to solve that one. Just use a bigger blank. And a gun with a locking action, ie the Ruger 77/22 bolt action rifle, instead of recoil operated semi-automatic like the Ruger 10/22. Lock the action closed to get every last bit of oomph from your cartridge. With a good steel inner barrel, chamber pressure won’t be anything to worry about, especially since the “chamber” will be 15” long, all the way down the barrel to the back of the arrowhead. Even in .17 caliber, that’s still a fair amount of volume, and that reduces pressure. A lot.
Running the numbers with the archery formula, (KE = M*V*V/450240; use the same KE for a different arrow weight M to solve for velocity V) a bow that can push a 305 grain arrow at 425fps should be able to push a 435 grain arrow a 285fps. That’s very close to what the best modern compound bows will do, and they shoot hard and flat enough for 50-60 yard deer hunting. Take it up two notches, since arrows are not really all that aerodynamic, and build one that will shoot the same 435gr arrow at 440fps. In a gun. Now you’ve got a 100 yard weapon for sure. And it can be done with a blank cartridge smaller than a .22 WMR, something halfway between a .17 Hornady HMR and the smaller .17 Mach 2; one only 20mm long. That’s more than you’ll get from even the strongest concrete nailer blank, but we are talking special purpose. And even my daydream “super magnum” arrow rifle won’t make as much bang as a firecracker. foop.
For short ranges you could always use a smaller blank. A put a hit on smaller deer. We have lots of those here too.
http://www.laruetactical.com/ruger-10-22-deluxe-arrow-conversion-kit
http://www.swivelmachine.com/html/rimfire.htm
h/t to John Jay
Posted by Drew458
on 05/14/2012 at 02:02 PM
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •
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Permalink • worthy of a prize. yeah, but what kind? stupid doesn’t cover it.
Howz this in the category of one for the books?
If this doesn’t paint the picture of just how stupid things can get, then nothing else will.
This is a letter to the editor from a retired woman. And boy I’d say she has a problem. I only wish there was a follow up done cos I’d like to know what happened over time.
Under the headline …….
BAD ADVICE, was the following. Take a look.
I’m a pensioner whose mother died last year, after which I decided initially, to rent out her house.
A married couple with three children moved in last October, but as I wanted to put the house up for sale I gave them notice.
Then the husband walked out, and the rent stopped being paid. The wife has now been advised by the (town) council to squat in the house.
How can the council tell someone to do something so wrong? What’s happening when the authorities are recommending such behavior?
Posted by peiper
on 05/14/2012 at 07:09 AM
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Outrageous • UK •
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Permalink • IT’S PERSONAL
Yesterday I posted a story about the closing of a museum. Nobody made any comments on it here at bmews but there were a number of comments made by Daily Mail readers on line. Including me because I felt strongly about the subject, and mourned the passing of the museum and most likely the Empire as well.
Sun sets on the only museum dedicated to the British Empire because of the nation’s dislike of colonial past
By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTERThe country’s only museum dedicated to the glories of the British Empire has closed for good.
The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum has been forced to sell its premises in Bristol and give up its collections because of public antipathy towards the country’s colonial past.
That isn’t the entire article but it’s enough for my purpose today.
As I mentioned above, I wrote a comment along with others.
When I opened my email this morning, I was greeted thus.
Hello jayd,
We have received a number of complaints about the comment you made on article “Sun sets on the only museum dedicated to the British Empire because of the nation’s dislike of colonial past “ (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143618/Sun-sets-museum-dedicated-British-Empire-nations-dislike-colonial-past.html), 13/05/2012 at 07:23
Due to the number of complaints received, your comment has been removed from MailOnline.
Should the situation change, we will review and consider re-publishing. Until such time, your comment will remain off the site. To avoid this happening again, please take the time to review the House Rules and site Terms and Conditions.
I wish I had made a copy of the short comment I wrote, and can not recall what I said that would have caused so much angst and complaints. But the folks at the Mail don’t tell me how many that number was, nor do they tell me in what way or what words used could have caused offense. I used no bad language and attacked nobody personally so I am in the dark as to which one of their numerous rules I violated.
So it sure does have me PO’d. Not from an ego standpoint. But from the position that I was actually defending the Empire and thought that the billions spent on foreign aid could be better spent here in England. Oh yeah, I also mourned the idea that the Victory had to beg for money and lease itself to raise funds for upkeep.
And so it goes. Which I fear ain’t well.
Posted by peiper
on 05/14/2012 at 04:34 AM
Filed Under: • Personal •
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Permalink • Sunday - May 13, 2012
eye candy bombshell
I know I’ve used this goddess before but she’s worth another visit.
CHRISTINA HENDRRICKS
That’s all folks.
good night.
Posted by peiper
on 05/13/2012 at 02:37 PM
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy •
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Permalink • pentagon instructor urges war. instructor no longer instructing.
If only. A few nukes and take out Somalia too and kill (literally) two roaches with a few boom-booms.
Hey come on. We all have our fantasies. Right?
Or is this article already old news back home? Of course it’s brand new to me here.
Anyway, it’s so typical of how things are these days. ONE student had a gripe. ONE! That’s all it takes I guess.
PENTAGON INSTRUCTOR URGES TOTAL WAR ON ISLAM
A red-faced Pentagon has conceded that an instructor at its Joint Forces College in Virginia for military officers was until recently teaching a course advocating “total war” with Islam that could require obliterating the holy cities of Mecca and Medina without concern for civilian deaths.
The material in the course, which officers could elect to take but was not obligatory, flew in the face of repeated assertions by the Obama administration that the war on terrorism is just that and should under no circumstances be read as an assault on a religion observed by 1.4 billion people around the world.
Details of the course were obtained by a blog on Wired.com, drawn from a presentation given by the teacher, Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, in July last year. He suggested that destroying Islamic holy sites would follow the precedents of the nuclear strike by the allies on Hiroshima in World War II and the firebombing of Dresden. His course was called ‘Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism’.
It was suspended in April after the Pentagon received a complaint from a student and Lt. Col. Dooley, while still at the College, no longer has any teaching duties. The FBI, meanwhile, has revealed that it too has recently been forced to revise some of its instructional materials to excise references that could have been insulting to Islam.
“It was just totally objectionable, against our values, and it wasn’t academically sound,” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, said at a press conference at the Pentagon. “This wasn’t about ... pushing back on liberal thought; this was objectionable, academically irresponsible.”
Dooley offered a theoretical war plan based on the need for “a direct ideological and philosophical confrontation with Islam”. In his presentation, he said:
“They hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit”. He added that as America waged that war it would be free to ignore provisions of the Geneva Convention that sets the rules for armed conflict as “no longer relevant”.
“This would leave open the option once again of taking war to a civilian population wherever necessary (the historical precedents of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki being applicable...).” Saying Islam has already declared war on the US, Dooley called the current American stance of seeking common ground with Islamic leaders around the world as “illogical” and the better option was “waging ‘near total war’”.
“We have now come to understand that there is no such thing as ‘moderate Islam’,” Dooley said in the July presentation. “It is therefore time for the United States to make our true intentions clear. This barbaric ideology will no longer be tolerated. Islam must change or we will facilitate its self-destruction.”
Offered five times a year for groups of 20 at a time, the course may have been taught to as many as 800 mid-level and senior US military officers before the Pentagon closed it down. Lt. Col. Dooley was himself a highly decorated officer who had served in Iraq, Bosnia and Kuwait among others.
Posted by peiper
on 05/13/2012 at 02:17 PM
Filed Under: • USA • War On Terror •
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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.
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Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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